Macbeth: Protagonist Becoming Evil
The story Macbeth is like no other in plot and poetry. It sets itself apart
from the rest by having a protagonist becoming evil. What makes Macbeth such a
complicated character is the way his outlook keeps on changing throughout the
play. This essay will prove that Macbeth is an evil man and was not overpowered
by ambition to get what he wanted. This essay will also determine that certain
characters like the witches did not force him to do evil; they simply triggered
it.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as a hero in the Scottish army,
that is ironic because Macbeth has defeated a traitor and he will become one.
We feel that a person of his loyalty could never commit evil unless he had a
good reason or if he would be provoked. After Macbeth's first meeting with the
witches, we learn from his aside that he has thought about killing Duncan " My
thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical" 1(Macbeth 1.3.152). Macbeth also
says " If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir."
2(Macbeth 1.4.157-159) which means that maybe he does not have to murder the
king to gain that title. Luck has been very generous to him and might continue
and make him king.
Macbeth's true evil thoughts about being king are first shown when he finds out
that king Duncan has named his son Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland. He now
shows his evil and his true feelings.
" Stars, hide your fires; Let not night see my black and
deep desires. The eye wink at the hand; yet let that
be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." 3
(Macbeth 1.4.57-60)
Macbeth is actually seeking help from the dark and supernatural. Macbeth is
saying that he does not want to see the evil that he will commit until it is
done. It is now known that Macbeth is capable of evil and would commit it.
Upon meeting Lady Macbeth, we can assume that any evil done by Macbeth would be
contributed by her influence. Lady Macbeth is a very powerful women and she has
a-lot of power over Macbeth's decisions. After Lady Macbeth reads the letter
from Macbeth, she says that he is in fact too noble to kill Duncan in cold blood
but he would like to.
" It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness To catch
the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not
Odysseus’ character is challenged in many ways throughout books 5 through 12. In some instances he holds strong, and in others he fails. His sense of adventure sometimes overwhelms him. The length of time Odysseus spends away from Ithaka also dilutes his desire to return, and possibly dilutes his desire to live. Under certain circumstances, any man can succumb to the evils to which he despises. A perfect example is Akhilleus in the Iliad. He started out an honorable man. With the death of his friend, he turns into a maniac who wants nothing but death for the enemy. Odysseus starts out wanting nothing but to return to his family and his homeland. Over the course of the many years away, this feeling dwindles and he is left with nothing but adventure to prolong his reason for living.
...nd deceit, he respected and honored the gods, and he respected his crew as well. Odysseus proved himself a great man by becoming humble but still retaining the amazing qualities that he already had. Overall, Odysseus was a great man capable of many things. He would put his own life on the line to save someone else’s. Putting one’s life on the line to save someone else’s the ultimate sacrifice. It is one that not many people are willing to make. People in this world are selfish and do not want to give of themselves for others. Though Odysseus starts out this way, he certainly did not end up this way. By the end of the epic poem, Odysseus is the picture perfect person. Everyone hopes to achieve this status; by some it has already been done. As a result, the world becomes a better place, and with progressions such as these, it is becoming better every second.
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” goes into the darkest and deepest morals of any Shakespearean play. Each character in the play portrays a very important role and each character gives off their own form of sincerities towards the advancing plot. Macbeth
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.
Shakespeare’s character Macbeth is based on the historical figure of a Scottish nobleman called Macbeth who was the general for Duncan the first. He also became King after murdering Duncan on the battlefield and reined for ten years before being defeated in a battle against the Danes (Thrasher 35-36). “For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name” is a passage from the war in the first chapter showing what the other warriors thought of Macbeth valor as a general for Duncan’s army (Macbeth 302). Then Shakespeare tells of Duncan’s death which he concocted the setting in Macbeth’s home to suit his needs. “I go, and it is done: the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons the to heaven, or to hell” this shows that Macbeth’s action where preplanned to kill Duncan as he slept (Macbeth p.321). Shakespeare’s account of who Macbeth was is close to the factual account even down to the fact that he murdered the former King Duncan and his battle with an army lead by Malcolm Canmore, the son of Duncan (Columbia University). Another character in Sha...
Somethings in history and in life needs to be put in perspective so children can understand. I watched this movie for the first time when I was about twelve and the movie showed more than i understood. It implied what happened during the time like the violence but did not show it. The older i got older, the more I could fully comprehend what was taking place during the movie. Throughout the movie you realize that most people were ignorant to the full extent to what was happening. Bruno’s mother did not know what was actually going on in her husband 's concentration camp, she did not found out until a comment from kolter about a foul smell from the
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
Throughout the play and leading up to her eventual suicide, Lady Macbeth slowly weakens. Yet, in the beginning of the play, she acts as if she is unstoppable. When Macbeth has his doubts and fears about murdering the loyal Duncan, Lady Macbeth chastises him, calling him everything from a coward to a helpless baby (I. vii. 39-49, 53-67). She even offers to do it herself, possibly to make Macbeth feel that he's even more cowardly because a woman is offering to do "his" job. This pushes Macbeth to kill, though these are the actions that will eventually lead to both of their demises later in the play. Macbeth tries to convince Lady Macbeth, as well as himself, that she is wrong: 3 Prithee, peace. I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares more is none. (I. vii. 50-52) However, Macbeth does not seem to fully convince her, because he is still mocked by his wife. Whether he failed to convince himself or to convince his Lady is irrelevant; he went through with the murder anyhow.
Although Macbeth, hesitates at the beginning to kill King Duncan. His wife, Lady Macbeth, convinces him by saying,
Evil is a destructive force; it causes harm to those who embrace it and their victims. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall into the hands of evil. Evil is what drives people to commit unnatural actions of destruction. Macbeth succumbs to evil through his fatal flaw, greed, and it causes him to disrupt the chain of being. When Macbeth willingly murders, massacres, lies and deceives, he loses his heath and sanity. Evil corrupts everything it touches, and Macbeth decides to be evil's servant. But, when Macbeth embraces evil, it corrupts him, and it ultimately destroys him as well. Lady Macbeth is a victim of Macbeth's fatal flaw, since she is drawn in, and becomes greedy for power herself. She pushes Macbeth into destruction when she adds the small touch that plunges Macbeth into a chain of murder, destruction, and lying followed by the loss of their sanity and health. After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are well into the depths of corruption and greed, it is clearly seen that their guilt will haunt them for the rest of their lives. The harm they have caused others will be returned to them as revenge and they have lost their sanity in order to gain power. The fate of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth clearly illustrates that to embrace evil is to negate our own need for order and well being.
Imagine waking up on a normal day, in your normal house, in your normal room. Imagine if you knew that that day, you would be taken away from your normal life, and forced to a life of death, sickness, and violence. Imagine seeing your parents taken away from you. Imagine watching your family walk into their certain death. Imagine being a survivor. Just think of the nightmares that linger in your mind. You are stuck with emotional pain gnawing at your sanity. These scenerios are just some of the horrific things that went on between 1933-1945, the time of the Holocaust. This tragic and terrifying event has been written about many times. However, this is about one particularly fascinating story called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.
This specific action consequently resulted in Macbeth’s level of morality to continually decline as he is acutely aware of his own tyranny. Therefore Macbeth attempts to forget the horrific deed he has committed and be the figure that orders and disorders. Our perception of Macbeth being a wise and loyal soldier is now eroded, as we start to view Macbeth constantly questioning his own actions, and is also impelled to perpetrate further atrocities with the intention of covering up his previous wrong-doings.
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, evil is a destructive force. It causes harm to those who embrace it and their victims. When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall into the hands of evil due to a greed for power, they lose all sense of rationality. For example, Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth into murdering Duncan, a benevolent king who praised Macbeth, who then continues the same crime in a chain of murder. Their actions, however, have consequences; guilt will haunt them for the